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NSA, GCHQ Insiders Leaking Security Flaws to Tor

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Anonymous members of the US and UK intelligence services are regularly supplying the developers of Tor, an anonymous web browser, with information about flaws and security exploits in its software, Andrew Lewman, head of Tor Project operations assumes.

MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA  Novosti) – Anonymous members of the US and UK intelligence services are regularly supplying the developers of Tor, an anonymous web browser, with information about flaws and security exploits in its software, Andrew Lewman, head of Tor Project operations assumes.

In an interview to BBC he pointed out leaks had come from both the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the US National Security Agency (NSA), though Tor’s anonymous bug reporting made it possible to conceal the names.

Mr. Lewman said that his company, which enables users to access the “dark web”, received regular tips from security agencies about bugs and design issues that potentially could compromise the service.

A security expert who worked as a consultant for GCHQ said Mr. Lewman's allegation amazed him, adding it is a common practice for all agencies around the world to make use of Tor vulnerabilities.

Notably, reporter Glenn Greenwald has published a number of Edward Snowden’s revelations, pointing to the fact that both NSA and GCHQ have attempted to crack Tor in attempt to prevent terrorism. Currently, older versions of Tor are still open to NSA and GCHQ attacks.

"But the fact that people might then be leaking that to the Tor Project so that it can undo it would be really very serious,” the security expert concluded.

Tor supports about 2.5 million users daily, with the browser having been downloaded by a staggering 150 million times for the past 12 months, Wall Street OTC reports.

The software was originally designed by the US Naval Research Laboratory, and the source widely used by the military, activists, and businesses to engage in confidential communication, still receives state funding. It allows users to access the “dark web”, a term used for websites not accessible without Tor and unseen by search engines such as Google.

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